Vegetarian mains
Slow cooker sweet potato & peanut butter stew
A slow cooker version of our sweet potato & peanut butter stew recipe to allow a more leisurely process or to save the expense of a having a pan on the hob for an hour or so. We’ve added chickpeas to make it a one pot meal, too. Although African in its roots, this recipe takes flavours from every step of the spice root. There is an earthy Indian warmth from cumin, a whiff of the Middle East from cinnamon, all finished with a peanut flavour suggestive of a Malaysian satay. You could stretch this out to serve 4 if served with rice.
Cook's notes
Slow cookers don’t allow much moisture to evaporate during cooking, so you need to add a little less water than usual to keep a good final consistency. Make sure the water doesn’t completely cover the ingredients when you add it, or it may be a little too watery when finished.
Ingredients
- 1 onion, sliced
- 2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
- 500g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 25g fresh ginger, peeled & grated
- 1 tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter
- 100g spinach. washed & chopped
- 1 pot of yogurt or vegan alternative
- handful of coriander, chopped
Method
-
Step 1
Put everything apart from the peanut butter, spinach, yogurt, and coriander into the slow cooker. Add enough water or stock to nearly cover everything. Season with salt and pepper and stir well.
-
Step 2
Pop the lid on and cook on a high for 6 hours, or on low for 8-10 or overnight. Give it a turn halfway through if you are able to.
-
Step 3
When the stew is cooked and tender, put the peanut butter in a small bowl. Add a small ladleful of liquid from the stew and mix well to loosen it – this will stop you having clumps of peanut butter in the stew. Add to the stew, along with the spinach. Stir everything together and pop the lid back on for 5 mins until the spinach has wilted. Taste and tweak the seasoning to your liking; add more cayenne for extra heat. Serve with in bowls with a blob of yogurt and a garnishing of coriander.